Garibaldi Lake hike

I know that when you browse my posts it doesn't look like I spend all my time studying and working—but if I showed you what I actually did (think pages of Greek homework and books on epistemology) you wouldn't look at my blog. Ever. 

Today I went on a hike up between Squamish and Whistler, the Garibaldi Lake Trail. It would be amazing to do it in the summer, but alas, I was too busy—you guessed it—working and doing summer classes. Anyhow, the forecast said rain and 27–31ºF. But I had already committed...so I borrowed an insulated rain jacket and prayed for the best. Which is exactly what we got: the cold weather froze the precipitation and we ascended 900 meters via 9 kilometers of trail under a confetti storm of snow. And we weren't even cold because the hiking effort was keeping us warm! By the time we hiked another 9 kilometers out, the snow had recreated the forest as a winter wonderland, a perfect Narnia...quiet, and hardly stirred by a breeze....enchanting. 

The team—all classmates from my college. 

Elevensies with a view

Arriving at the lake—a serene winterscape.

By the time we'd hiked out and stopped for dinner at a local brewery, we'd been out of the city for over twelve hours! We decided it was high time we headed home from our epic outing. It was a really lovely day of fellowship, bonding, laughter, and gratitude for the beauty we experienced.

on the water

On Sunday, we drove out to Deep Cove—a cute (but rather too well touristed) little town a few minutes outside of the city. It sits in a snug little cove, occupied by a tidy marina and a kayak rental shop. Rather spontaneously, Jasmine decided we ought to go kayaking for a couple hours a last adventure together before she flew out the following morning. So thats how we ended up kayaking up the Indian Arm waterway for the later part of the afternoon:)

It was a lovely way to finish off our visit—even if my arms do still ache a little:)

Full speed pause

This weekend my dear Maui friend Jasmine came to town for the wedding of an old YWAM colleague of ours. It was lovely to catch up, have support for going to get my hair cut, and see old friends and coworkers at the wedding itself. Although it was a pause from my school work (I'd worked ahead to free up the couple days of the visit) it was none the less a full speed weekend. In fact, I am fairly exhausted from the early mornings and late nights, cramming everything we could into our couple days together. 

College retreat

At the start of every fall semester, Regent takes a weekend away—we leave town en masse to make space for us to connect, recalibrate, and gain shared vision as a community.  There was dormitory lodge accommodations but I stayed in a tent with a friend, using loaner sleeping bags (yes, plural) to insulate against the nighttime mountain chill. It was nice after a month of classes and homework to have two full days without a text book. 

With my housemate Marissa

With friends Heather and Jolene

With my friend Amy with whom I drove up to the retreat. I actually really enjoyed the drive—it was scenic and I enjoyed conversations with my fellow backseat passenger, Nicole:)